THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     THIS CR ISSUE     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           Next Document     New Search
Prev Hit        Back              Prev Document     HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Daily Digest      Help
                Doc Contents      Extens Contents   CR Issues by Date

[Page: E378]

• Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, on March 23, the people of Taiwan will hold an event we in this country much too often take for granted: a free election. As Americans, we share in their pride and hopeful anticipation of this great celebration of liberty.

• At the same time, we must condemn the actions of the Mainland Chinese in attempting to intimidate the Taiwanese people. The efforts of the dictators in Beijing to somehow frighten the people of Taiwan into postponing their election have failed, and have again reminded the world of what the raw and sordid face of Marxist totalitarianism looks like.

• Recently I met on Capitol Hill with Mr. Chen Rong-jye, Deputy Representative of the government of Taiwan. Mr. Chen holds the second-ranking position in the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, the equivalent of the Taiwanese Embassy--since formal American recognition of the Communist government in Beijing, Taiwan has had no formal embassy in the United States. We discussed China's military actions in the vicinity of Taiwan's coastline, and Mr. Chen showed me on a map how close the Communist Chinese had come in their missile exercises to two major Taiwanese ports.

• I was honored that Mr. Chen came to the Hill to meet with me and discuss the Taiwanese situation. Communist China's crude bullying of Taiwan has failed to sway the commitment of the Taiwanese people to democratic elections later this month, and I fully endorse their brave determination to stand for liberty, and also am strongly supportive of the recent placement of U.S. naval ships in the waters near Taiwan.

• In addition, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the nonbinding House Concurrent Resolution 148, a resolution that states, in part, that `the United States, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the constitutional process of the United States, and consistent with its friendship with and commitment to the democratic government and people of Taiwan, should assist in defending them against invasion, missile attack, or blockade by the People's Republic of China.'

• Other key supporters of this resolution include House Speaker Newt Gingrich, International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay.

• Ronald Reagan once reminded us that `we are a people with a government, not the other way around.' The people of Taiwan understand this fundamental truth in a way the aging tyrants in Beijing perhaps never will, which is all the more reason for the United States to uphold our longtime friends on Taiwan.

[Page: E379]

THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     THIS CR ISSUE     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           Next Document     New Search
Prev Hit        Back              Prev Document     HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Daily Digest      Help
                Doc Contents      Extens Contents   CR Issues by Date